The French watch and jewelery industry “shone” in 2022 with sales and production at record levels, despite a gloomy backdrop, according to the sector’s annual report.
Last year, sales of watches and jewelery soared 20% to 7.5 billion euros in France, showing “exceptional dynamism” despite an “uncertain environment” linked to the conflict in Ukraine, the rise in the cost of energy and inflation, announced the professional committee Franclastique on Wednesday.
For its part, the production of watches and jewelery reached 5,000 million euros, 29% more, including 381 million euros for watches (+12%), which signed “its best year in 20 years”, and 4,600 million euros for jewelry (+31). %).
historic french market
“2021 had already turned things around, and 2022 has brought activity to a record level. We have never seen such historic increases, the French market has never done so well, both thanks to French customers and the return of foreign tourists ”, he celebrates. The general delegate of Francexplosion, Hervé Buffet, told AFP.
“The Place Vendôme attracts the entire industry,” he summarizes. “Companies are growing to meet this demand: a few years ago it was rare to find workshops with more than 100 people, today you have a certain number,” she observes.
Workshops are being created everywhere: in the “historic strongholds of Paris and Lyon”, but there are also “large site developments in Franche-Comté, on the Valence side. Some are clearing new territories, on the La Rochelle side “, specifies. the general delegate of Francexplosion.
In a sector that is “recruiting”, says Hervé Buffet, a hundred new companies have been created in recent years and many jewelery brands have emerged (Persée, Charlotte Chesnais, Mara Paris, Atelier Paulin, Deloison, Rouvenat… ) as in watchmaking (Apose, Charlie Paris, Beaubleu, Sartory Billard, Trilobe…).
“Creativity” and tourism
In five years, from 2018 to 2022, French watch and jewelery production has more than doubled, from €2.4bn to €5bn, creating more than 2,000 industrial jobs in a sector that employs 14,000 people, for manufacturing alone (excluding sales and other functions).
“To produce more and develop, brands need more components and in jewelry there is hypergrowth driven mainly by the houses of Place Vendôme -Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Dior, Chanel, Hermès…- which are on the rise”, comments Hervé Buffett.
“Our strong point is creativity, and the fact of being able to trust our tourist destination, our art of living: it is a cultural element that all these brands work on,” says Hervé Buffet.
After falling to 4,700 million euros in 2020, compared to 7,500 million euros in 2019 -a year of activity inflated by massive exports to the United Kingdom, before Brexit-, exports of watches and jewelery “returned strongly” last year, indicates Franceclat, to reach 9,500 million euros.
The year 2021 had been “still marked by more or less long periods of administrative closure depending on the commercial areas”, and 2022 has “returned to more usual patterns, a phenomenon amplified by the return of many tourists”, comments Francexplosion. .
Specialized commerce -sale in stores and online, in the city and in shopping centers- saw its sales increase by 21%, while the “winners” of 2021 “marked time remarkably”: sales of +discounts+ fell by 2% and those of companies specialized in online commerce, -7%.
Despite these good results, tricolor watchmaking remains a niche market: French brands capture only 2% of sales in France.
Source: BFM TV
